The Rock: Did He Turn His Back On The Wrestling Fans?

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has taken the Hollywood scene by storm since leaving the WWE for good back in 2005. His last match was with Mick Foley against Evolution.

He said he would be back, but other than a few promos and inducting his father and grandfather into the WWE Hall of Fame, we have not seen him back.

And I can see why too, I mean he has been in tons of TV projects in Hollywood. Most recently he was in a Disney movie called The Game Plan in which he played the star quarterback of a pro team while finding out he had a daughter.

It is a pretty good movie if you haven't seen it. He has been in Walking Tall, The Rundown, Be Cool, The Scorpion King, The Mummy, and so many other movies we loved him in. You may have a favorite that is not shown here.

His newest project, Race to Witch Mountain, is really hyped by kids and adults alike. Of course being a family movie, and the name already being popular, it most likely will do well in theaters.

He really has been drifting away from his wrestling name "The Rock". He had been going by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for a while. Now that people know his name and who he i, he has gone strictly by Dwayne Johnson.

Which I can see, I mean he really wants to make himself a movie star. He wants to get away from the name of a "former WWE wrestler". He is probably the best on the mic in wrestling history, and the man of 1,000 catch phrases, Johnson had been a huge part of wrestling history.

In fact, he has been so much so that he is in the new Legends of WrestleMania video game. Of course, his rivalry with Stone Cold was a real reason why he was so big. Plus, he was the ultimate professional wrestler.

So he's athletic, great on the mic, good with fans as a face or heel, sells moves well, and didn't make mistakes in the ring. So the WWE was devastated when he left, and didn't think they could find another.

Of course that changed for some people, who believe John Cena is the next Rock in the WWE. But, we will have to see about that.

Some think Johnson used the WWE as a stepping stone to get to Hollywood. But, I don't think that is true. First off, he is a third generation wrestler. So, he grew up around wrestling, and mentioned it was all he wanted to do.

Growing up around it and then being able to do it, it was a dream of his. He finally got the chance and then he excelled. But, he knew that he would not be able to be a wrestler for a long time.

He knew by watching his grandfather and father, that he did not want to be just another wrestler. He wanted to do something after his wrestling experience.

He got that chance too when he hosted SNL, which I believe is the only pro-wrestler ever to do so, at least at the time. Vince McMahon knew that he had something with The Rock.

He had a guy who could act, and was great in the ring too. So he marketed him very well. They even used him as the man who saved the WWF from dieing to the Alliance in 2001 at the Survivor Series in the Invasion storyline.

So he was respected in the wrestling industry while making waves outside of it. But then he realized that if he was going to be more than just another wrestler then he needed to take the opportunity that Hollywood gave him.

That meant he had to leave the WWE early, and its fans. He knows he is loved by WWE fans, and he is grateful for all they have done for him.

But we all know that there is nothing outside of wrestling for wrestlers. And the first opportunity you get, you have to take it. After all it may be the only one.

Of course the WWE no has WWE Studios. In Johnson's time, they did not have that. However if they did, one could think that he may have stuck around a little while longer.

But that is neither here nor there. Recently he turned down a movie with a wrestling angle. It was a comedy movie about him wrestling as a girl, but still he declined.

It sounded dumb anyway, but still most think he just turned it down because it involved wrestling.

He has been trying to model his career around Will Smith, who has had hit after hit in Hollywood. In his last few have he helped make over 1 billion dollars. That is saying something, and it is a good role model for Johnson. Any actor would want to model that.

But Smith did a boxing movie in Ali. A movie about Mohammad Ali. Which was well received by critics. So one has to think he may do a sports movie in his time too.

A wrestling movie maybe? Who knows?

But for now he will be doing the 2009 Kids Choice Awards and starring in great movies, such as The Race to Witch Mountain I mentioned earlier.

Do you think Johnson turned his back on the WWE and its fans or just took the opportunities brought to him?